Training Information

TEMA Training focuses on four primary areas: professional emergency management, incident management and incident command, hazardous materials and search and rescue. The focus of TEMA Training is always to support the continued development of local emergency management programs. There is a specific focus and increased emphasis in the realm of emergency operations center operations and on the further development of a cadre of emergency management support team members.

Additionally, a continuous return to the basics of the emergency management profession and the goal of developing certified professional emergency managers throughout the state focus us on professional development courses such as: Principles of Emergency Management for Tennessee and Leadership and Influence for Tennessee.

A focus on communications training, the development of communications unit leaders and technicians and the development of incident management team members also continues throughout the state.

These previous priorities never remove the requirement for special assignment training to be accomplished to ensure responder safety and efficiency in life saving. Training is essential to understanding your job and should be a higher priority than any other until qualification is accomplished. Completion of hazardous materials training to attain the Technician level is a must for any member of a HAZMAT team, for example.

Professional EMA Training

Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) first became involved in hazardous materials in 1977. Following a bromine spill near Rockwood, it became apparent there was a serious lack of hazardous materials training and equipment in Tennessee. While TEMA's program was still being developed, tragedy struck in Waverly when a propane explosion left 19 dead and 70 injured. At that time, Tennessee led the nation in deaths and injuries of emergency responders. Pledged to ensure "that no one be needlessly killed or injured responding to a hazardous material incident," The Tennessee Hazardous Materials Institute and the state response program became fully operational. Today the training portion of the hazardous materials program focuses on: creating qualified instructors, training individual responders, and developing accredited hazardous materials teams.

TEMA Hazardous Materials Awareness Level Course

This 4-hour resident course covers the basic skills to recognize, detect, and identify the presence of hazardous materials during an emergency. Students will learn how to define and describe how hazardous materials are classified; understand the risks associated with them and proper notification procedures Other topics of instruction include: Understanding the importance of initiating command and control activities during a hazardous materials incident, surveying a hazardous material incident and identifying the containment systems and materials involved, and use of the Emergency Response Guidebook.

Students who successfully complete this course will have met the standards under OSHA 29 CFR 1910.120 and NFPA 472 (2013).

Target Audience: All first responders

Prerequisites: None

TEMA Hazardous Materials Operations Level Course

This 40-hour resident course covers the basic operating procedures for first responder that teaches a systematic response to hazardous material incidents. The curriculum defines hazardous materials, and describes the roles, responsibilities and risks associated with a incident. It also describes the types, uses and sources of information needed to identify hazards, as well as the basic options, requirements and limitations of methods used to control, contain or confine a hazmat incident. Students will participate in hands-on instruction and participate in group activities during the course. A written exam is given at the end of the course.

Target audience: Primary – Fire Fighters - Law Enforcement - EMS

Prerequisites: IS 700, IS 800, IS 100, IS 200 (FEMA On-line courses), 16 hr classroom ICS course (ICS 300 or equivalent),
TEMA HazMat Awareness, IS-3 (RAD), and SCBA qualified. Students need to bring Air Pack & Full Air Tank to the course. Students who successfully
complete this course will have met the standards under OSHA 29 CFR 1910.120 and NFPA 472 (2013).

Secondary: All other emergency response organizations

Hazardous Materials Team Operations Course

TEMA has developed the HMTO 80-hour course in which the individual student is trained to operate in an offensive mode when responding to a hazardous materials incident. It is also designed to prepare team members to operate safely and as a unit in dealing with Hazardous Materials incidents. Emphasis is on teamwork and the use and limitations of existing team equipment. Content includes personal protection, safety procedures, basic physical and chemical properties, container characteristics, basic tactics and guidelines for team policies, procedures and operations. Module quizzes are utilized to evaluate class progress. Field trips and hands-on competency drills are conducted to reinforce classroom activities. There is a final test and the course concludes with an evaluated written and practical (hands-on) exam, with a full-scale team exercise. An average score of 80 must be maintained to successfully complete the course. At least one of these courses is offered in each TEMA region per year, contingent upon funding.

Effective January 2014, the BC:CI course will no longer be accepted as a pre-requisite for HMTO. Students will have to have completed the Hazardous Materials Operations Level course along with the other pre-requisites for taking this course.

TEMA works with the Department of Energy and delivers this course in two versions the full 16 hour offering and the one day 8 hour version for radiological monitoring only. The course gives and understanding of basic radiological response hazards and safety and teaches the responders to safely monitor for radiation.

Target audience: Local and state emergency responders working with, in or around radiological hazards

Prerequisites: FEMA IS 3: Radiological Emergency Management

FCRR: Fundamentals Course for Radiological Response

This 3 day course covers the concepts of radiation protection, radiation detection instruments, radiological monitoring techniques, radiological hazards and protective actions, team building, and basic procedures to support planning and response for emergency and recovery activities in the event of a radiological incident The course covers all types of radiological hazards from fixed facility to transportation to WMD.

Target audience: Local and state emergency responders working with, in or around radiological hazards

Prerequisites: FEMA IS 3: Radiological Emergency Management

MERRTT 8 hrs

Professional Development Series

TEMA 101

Description: This 1 day course is an introduction to TEMA and to emergency management in Tennessee. This course covers the history of emergency management, hazards in Tennessee, the legal basis for emergency management, TEMA’s organization both administratively and during disasters as well as other introductory topics. The primary audience for this course is TEMA staff and state emergency services coordinators (ESC). Local emergency management directors may attend by coordinating with their regional office.

Prerequisites: None

LEADERSHIP AND INFLUENCE

Description: This 3 day course is designed to improve your leadership and influence skills. It addresses the following: What leadership means for emergency management personnel; Leadership from within; How to facilitate change; How to build and rebuild trust in an organization; Using personal influence and political savvy to network and influence people effectively; Fostering an environment for leadership development.

Prerequisites: None

INSTRUCTOR METHODOLOGY

Description: This 5 day course provides participants with an overview of instruction on adult learning, learning objectives and lesson plans, communication skills, instructional delivery, and multi media. Sections of the training are supported by a series of practical exercises that require the student to perform tasks associated with that lesson. This comprehensive program combines lessons in the methods, approaches, and practical techniques for teaching adult education. The target audience includes but not limited to emergency management personnel who have, or may have, a responsibility to teach training classes to emergency professionals.

Prerequisites: None

PRINCIPLES OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT FOR TENNESSEE

Description: This 3 day course provides the foundational philosophies and perspectives necessary for the professional emergency manager. Some of the course topics and themes include: a look at the history and beginnings of emergency management, the four phases of emergency management and their relevance today, the impact of terrorism and homeland security on emergency management and professional standards in emergency management. The primary audience for this course is TEMA staff, state emergency services coordinators (ESC), local emergency management directors and those in the emergency services and government arena seeking more than a basic understanding of emergency management. Some minor reading or individual assignments after hours may be incorporated into the course.

National Incident Management System (NIMS) & Incident Command System (ICS)

On February 28, 2003, the President issued Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD)-5, which directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to develop and administer a National Incident Management System (NIMS). According to HSPD-5:

The system will provide a consistent nationwide approach for Federal, State, and local governments to work effectively and efficiently together to prepare for, respond to, and recover from domestic incidents, regardless of cause, size, or complexity.The Emergency Management Institute developed the new ICS courses collaboratively with the National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG, the United States Fire Administration and the United States Department of Agriculture to meet the NIMS compliance.

NIMS training standards are established and enforced by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). States and local jurisdictions are requested to assist in maintaining integrity and standards of the NIMS system.

ICS/EOC INTERFACE:

Description: This 1 day course will introduce you to the roles of the Incident Command System (ICS) and Emergency Operations Centers (EOCs) during emergency operations, and discuss ways to develop an ICS/EOC interface implementation strategy or action plan for your community. The target audience includes personnel associated with on-scene Incident Command, and EOCs and Multiagency Coordination (MAC) System entities.

Description: This 2 day course provides training on the resources for personnel who require advanced application of the ICS. The course expands upon information covered in the ICS-100 and ICS-200 courses. This course describes how the NIMS Command/and Management component supports the management of expanding incidents; the incident/event management process for supervisors and expanding incidents as prescribed by the ICS; Implement the incident management process on a simulated Type 3 incident; and students develop an Incident Action Plan for a simulated incident.

Description: This 2 day course provides training on the resources for personnel who require advanced application of the ICS. This course expands upon information covered in ICS-100 through ICS 300 Courses. These earlier courses are prerequisites for ICS-400. ICS-400 explains how major incidents engender special management challenges; describe the circumstances in which an Area Command is established; and describe the circumstances in which multi-agency coordination systems are established.

Search & Rescue Operations (SAR)

TEMA SEARCH OPERATIONS

Description: This 1-day awareness level course gives a thorough overview of TEMA search operations and is especially focused on non-urban environments. While this course is not a prerequisite it is an excellent foundation for Basic Visual Tracking or Managing Search Operations.

Prerequisites: None

GPS/LAND NAVIGATION COURSE

Description: This 2 ½-day course is hands-on and the participants can expect to spend significant time outside in the field (forest) environment. There will be a GPS Navigation Course which will involve significant hiking and a terrain walk as part of the field exercise portion of the course. At the conclusion of training, participants will be familiar with topographical maps, coordinate systems, GPS technology and mapping programs. Participants will be capable of relaying positioning information to search managers and receive positioning instructions in order to move to directed search areas.

Prerequisites: None

Basic Visual Tracking

Description: This 4-day course teaches the basic skills in visual tracking and map/compass orientation, and specifically targets law enforcement tactical personnel and volunteer search/rescue squads. Students receive four hours of classroom instruction with the remaining hours performing medium intensity fieldwork, performing several tracking exercises of increasing difficulty and complexity. The class is approved for POST in-service Specialized Training through the Tennessee POST Commission.

Prerequisites: None

Managing Search Operations

Description: This 5-day course is conducted in a classroom setting. The course was original developed for searching in rural and mountainous areas for those lost or missing. With the ever changing search environment and the need for a law enforcement presence in all lost and missing person’s cases, the course has been revised to meet the needs of SAR personnel and law enforcement elements. The course features a law enforcement-managed search in a metro area, which ended in the deaths of three young children. The course begins with initial response efforts, procedures and legal requirements and types of resources which may be available. Following initial efforts the course begins to build into additional operational periods and includes the development of an Incident Action Plan for multi period/day operations. Also covered are Investigative procedures, psychological and family care issues and suspending the search and post-search efforts. Practical Exercises utilizing maps and skills learned in class are used to enhance the students learning experience. The lead instructor for the class supplements the instructor cadre with instructors who have extensive practical experience in search operations. The class is approved for POST in-service Specialized Training through the Tennessee POST Commission.

Prerequisites: None

INLAND SEARCH AND RESCUE PLANNING COURSE

Description: This 5-day course is a comprehensive, “graduate-level” look at inland search theory and its application to land and air searches for missing persons and aircraft in a wilderness environment. The course consists of classroom lessons and tabletop exercises with emphasis on the planning necessary for effective area-type searches during an extended search using Probability of Success (POS) to predictively allocate limited resources to their best effect. Additional topics include pre-plan development, legal aspects, NIMS ICS applied to SAR, the federal role, and related subjects. This course does not teach search tactics or technical procedures and is directed towards SAR leaders in federal, state, and local emergency services and law enforcement — those responsible for the planning and overall conduct of inland search missions. The general searcher, while a most important member of the SAR team, will not find this course useful. There is a significant amount of mathematics and statistical analysis required to complete this course.

Description: This 1-day awareness level course gives a thorough overview of a public information officer's role in planning for, developing and delivering emergency public information. This course can serve as either an introduction to the role for new PIOs, or to allow persons with non-PIO roles to gain an understanding of how to work with a PIO during events.

Target Audience: Anyone interested in understanding the Public Information Officer role or how to work with one.

Description: This 2-day course is hands-on and the participants can expect to spend significant time developing skills needed to be full or part-time Public Information Officer. These skills are developed through written and oral communications exercises. Students will learn how to understand the workings of the media and develop tools and techniques to perform effectively as a public information officer.

Target Audience: Individuals whose primary responsibility is to be a conduit for public information to the media during an emergency.

Description: This 1-day course provides the skills needed to establish and operate in a joint information system & joint information center environment during an emergency. Students will explore how incidents of expanding complexity necessitate interactions with multiple agencies, departments and jurisdictions and how to incorporate those into the incident management activities at the command and coordination levels. In a multi-agency response, several public information officers may be required to interact and manage personnel and information during the event by handling additional coordination and planning roles.

Target Audience:Individuals whose primary responsibility is to lead a jurisdiction's public information efforts, such as County EMA Directors, Communications Directors and Public Information Officers for response agencies or political offices.

Prerequisites: Basic PIO (G-290)

Local Emergency Manager Training Requirements

As directed by T.C.A. 58-2-133, TEMA has established the following minimum training qualifications for local emergency management directors.